


Words Worthless and More Important Than the World

by aGoodGoodBoy



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, Soulmark AU, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-29 00:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3875755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aGoodGoodBoy/pseuds/aGoodGoodBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hartley hated soulmarks.</p><p>Cisco loved soul marks, but hated his own.</p><p>The moments leading up to their meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hartley

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are always appreciated! Enjoy!

“Wow. Can’t believe Harrison Wells said that about me.”

Hartley Rathaway had never cared much for soul marks. 

Well, that’s being generous. Hartley Rathaway downright hated soul marks. They taught children to place their faith in silly emotions and love at first sight and other useless, fairytale things. There was no science to explain exactly how they worked, yet everyone trusted them. It was stupid. And, non personal reasons aside, Hartley’s soul mark had ruined his life. 

When Hartley was 22, he knew he was gay. Not that anyone else knew, and they wouldn’t know any time soon if he had any say in it. Unfortunately, it turned out that he didn’t have any say. 

A new study from a brilliant biochemist by the name of Jemma Simmons had explained how she had compared the DNA on the marks of many mated pairs and found that the DNA of one’s soul mark belonged to their soulmate. Upon hearing about this, Hartley’s parents decided to test the DNA of his mark. 

They said it was to make sure no one pretended to be his soulmate, but Hartley knew better for two reasons: one, he would have to say their words, and two, his parents cared for soul mates just about as much as he did. The two of them certainly didn’t have each other’s words. They were just worried about the continuation of the Rathaway line. 

So Hartley packed. There might have been that minuscule chance that his parents would accept him when his soulmate had the XY chromosome, but Hartley’s parents were people of old money and old values. He withdrew money from his account without informing his parents and bought a plane ticket to Central City. He had graduated from university a few months ago, and Dr. Harrison Wells had been especially keen to take him on at STAR Labs. Hartley would have taken the offer if he hadn’t been shipped back home to meet up with his parents, whom had not gone to see him graduate, and start training to inherit their company. Now, he had a reason to take Dr. Wells’s proposition. He called STAR Labs, and Harrison assured him that STAR Labs would always have a place for a mind like his. 

And because of this, when his parents told him to get in the car, he didn’t fight it. He knew what was coming, but he was prepared. So when, weeks later, his father cracked open the envelope with the results, Hartley was ready for the dead, disbelieving look that flooded his father’s face. He was ready when his father grabbed his mother by the wrist and pulled her into his study. He was ready for the shouting that followed. He was ready when he checked his parent’s electronic copy of their will later that night, and saw a few changes. Mostly the disappearance of his name anywhere on it. He was ready for the knock on his door, but he never had to hear it. He was out the window with a backpack and a bundle of money before it ever came. 

And so, when Hartley stared at the messy, black handwriting that swirled around his right arm, up his hand and to the tip of his pointer finger, he didn’t exactly think good thoughts. 

By the time the ridiculous boy of a man whom Dr. Wells had hired said them, he had nothing good left for supposed "soulmates." If he was cold to his colleagues, he was utterly frigid to Cisco Ramon, because Cisco's words has ruined his life.


	2. Cisco

“I don’t foresee myself trusting someone who showed up to his first day of work at a billion dollar research facility wearing a t-shirt that says “Keep Calm and Han Shot First.“

Cisco loved soul marks, but he hated his own. 

Soul marks gave everyone a reason to hope, a reason to live. There might not be science to explain them, but something so mystical and amazing shouldn’t be contained by a few equations and long words. Not everything needed science to be real. 

But, while he may be glad they existed, he hated his. 

He was born with his words: a neat, tiny scrawl that started behind his right ear and followed his hairline to his spine, where it dipped down to his back, before returning to his neck and ending behind his left ear. For years, it had been a jumble of letters and entirely illegible. 

His mother had very traditional views about how the world worked, and she hadn’t been happy when she found out her son would be younger than his future wife, but she held onto hope that the words would at least be those of a proper, demure girl. When his skin finally stretched for the words to become readable, his mother was horrified at the forward insult that was his soul mark. 

The other kids began taunting Cisco. Telling him how if the one person he was meant to be with couldn’t love him, clearly no one could. He toughed it out. And then his brother joined them. Cisco didn’t particularly care. When his mother found out, she immediately rushed Cisco to the department store and bought a water proof foundation in his skin tone. 

And for years, as instructed, Cisco applied it every morning and redid the sharpied "Hello” on his upper arm. 

His mother would scold him for his soul mark, saying “Look at your brother! His soulmark is so sweet!” as if Cisco has any control over the situation. His parents used it as another way to separate themselves from him. 

And when Cisco finally left for college, the first thing to enter the trash can was a brown bottle of concealer, still half full. 

Cisco began to flaunt his soulmark all he could. Having never truly been able to show it off in his childhood, he wanted it to be seen, not ignored and lied about. Other students smiled at it, showing him their own, ranging from sappy to insults far worse than his own. He became proud of the fact that his soulmate would probably hate him. 

And when a good half of his clothes were stolen at the laundromat, he knew his soulmate was close. He had been walking down the street to get some jeans, when a shirt in a store window stopped him. He burst through the door, ran to the cashier, and all but demanded the shirt in the window. The taken aback cashier asked why he was so desperate, and Cisco turned around, commanding him to read. After a silent moment, laughter broke the air. A high five and the last medium in stock followed. Cisco strode out of the store, a proud smile on his face and the words “Keep Calm and Han Shot First” on his chest. 

Cisco didn’t care if his soulmate liked him at this point. It didn’t stop him from having fun with it. 

And then college was over, and resumes were sent. STAR Labs, a billion dollar research facility at the top of Cisco’s list, responded to Cisco glowingly. Cisco barely thought twice before accepting. And on the first morning, he pulled his shirt of defiance over his head, ready to face anything. 

And he was introduced. And Hartley stared. And despite his best efforts, his soulmate broke his heart. 

So he smiled.


End file.
